A SUCKER FOR A TEST

A SUCKER FOR A TEST

This week the students of Australia in years three, five, seven and nine are undertaking tests in Literacy and Numeracy and they don’t want to in many cases. One of the more unusual suggestions mentioned in the paper was giving the students a lollipop like when you get an injection. That was apparently the best suggestion for helping them to cope!

These tests conducted worldwide by P.I.S.A., actually only in 80 countries, show that we are performing badly. The rationale for the local tests are that they will provide helpful information for parents, teachers and educational experts but all the teachers and parents actually get is a dot on a line that goes from below expected result to above expected result.

The tests are done mid-year, by which time any competent teacher would already know their students and their abilities and the results are not available till later in the year. NAPLAN stands for National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy but I often called them NAPALM tests because of the damage they cause to the students’ confidence. As this occurs annually, so does the usual reporting of concerns with the tests, concerns with the quality of teachers and the hope for improvement next year.

Dennis Fitzgerald,
Melbourne, Australia

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